Today we’d like to introduce you to Karriem Edwards.
Hi Karriem, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
For the last three and a half years, I have served as the President of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, a role that feels less like a career milestone and more like a date with destiny.
My mission is fueled by a childhood yearning for a father’s presence and a mother’s relief. On my last day of kindergarten, my father passed away, leaving my thirty-year-old mother a widow with five children under the age of ten. We weren’t abused or neglected, but we were profoundly deprived. While I cannot travel back in time to change my own story, I have dedicated my life to rewriting the fate of families walking that same difficult path.
I was fortunate. Academic and athletic success opened doors to worlds I never imagined — from the halls of a distinguished boarding school to the deck of a Navy vessel. I spent over a decade navigating the high-stakes environments of corporate America and government with giants like Sears, Nestlé, PepsiCo, and the Florida Department of Revenue. Yet, the yearning to serve never faded. In 2000, I left the private sector to submerge myself in community work. Whether as a coach, teacher, or director for organizations like Junior Achievement and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County, I applied corporate rigor to mission-driven growth. Through these years, one truth became undeniable: nearly every challenge facing our schools and neighborhoods could be traced back to the “dad void.”
Today, I have come full circle. I serve children just like the boy I once was by empowering their fathers to protect, provide, and love. As I lead this statewide movement, I carry that mission home every night, striving to be the husband and father my own family deserves.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been challenging due to the fact that I bring a different perspective to the social sector, a sector that has its own language, and, unfortunately, has many passionate people with limited capacity and resources. Convincing them that integrating private-sector thinking can increase resources or get more out of existing resources often meets with resistance. The other is the pay disparity. We realized during COVID that our private sector could not restart without schools open to provide childcare. Teachers have always educated our most precious children, our future, and remain among societies lowest earners. Pay disparity pervades the social sector, and the transition from corporate pay to social sector pay was a struggle for me. If the mission growth that I have achieved was private sector sales growth the financial rewards would be handsome. However, the fulfillment of knowing so many of the impact stories is priceless.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We work to end youth poverty. We bring attention to problems, policy challenges, and best practices, then tackle issues that unintentionally keep fathers and children apart. Our work is motivated by families and shaped by evidence. Our programming is thoughtfully designed to support fathers at every stage of their journey.
We recognize the unique challenges they face. While many organizations provide parenting programs, we specifically focus on the essential role fathers play and the deep, positive impact they can have on their families. We offer valuable educational resources not only for fathers but also for practitioners and the wider community. Our mission is to inspire men, families, and the support systems around them to understand the incredible potential that comes from re-engaging fathers. This connection is vital for the health and well-being of children, families, and our communities as a whole.
We welcome a diverse group of fathers into our programs — some step forward voluntarily, while others may be directed to us by the courts. Regardless of their circumstances, every father who comes to us receives unwavering support. We are committed to creating an environment where they can connect with a nurturing network, empowering them to navigate and overcome longstanding challenges together.
Single-parent households, particularly mother-only homes, remain a primary driver of child poverty in the United States and especially in South Carolina. Drawing from our 2026-2028 Strategic Plan and aligned data sources like the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) and South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS), nearly 42% of children in South Carolina live in single-parent households — above the national average of about 34-35% — with rates even higher in rural and urban counties, reflecting economic, social, and structural inequities. This includes roughly 14.4 million children nationally in mother-only households, 3.5 million in father-only households, and over 6 million with cohabiting unmarried parents (counted as single- parent families by the U.S. Census).
In South Carolina, this dynamic contributes to profound challenges: 53% of children lived in households unable to meet basic financial needs in 2022, even with working adults, per statewide indicators. Father absence exacerbates this, with children in non-resident father households facing 2-3 times higher poverty risks, alongside increased behavioral, emotional, academic, and justice system involvement. The financial burden of child-rearing amplifies these structural barriers. Updated estimates, drawing from historical U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data adjusted for inflation, suggest that raising a child to age 17 can cost between approximately $241,000 (lower-income) and over $500,000 (higher-income), with middle-income averages around $320,000-$322,000 in recent inflation adjusted figures (equivalent to roughly $17,000 $19,000 annually per child, not including college).
Meanwhile, the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for 2025 shows median weekly earnings for full-time workers at about $1,200 (annualizing to roughly $62,000-$63,000). For a single parent with two children earning at or near this median, income may barely cover child- related expenses — leaving little margin for housing, transportation, or emergencies — often resulting in reliance on public assistance and persistent hardship. In South Carolina, DSS oversees approximately 225,000 child support cases, representing nearly one in four children statewide, highlighting the scale of disconnection while underscoring opportunities for re-engagement through supportive, rather than punitive, policies. Economic problems ultimately require economic solutions.
Historical precedents like the 1944 GI Bill demonstrate the transformative potential of comprehensive support — providing housing, education, and job opportunities that created generational wealth. America once invested in veterans to build the middle class. Today, we must invest in fathers to rebuild the family class. A modern equivalent tailored to fathers — combining economic empowerment, family-stability incentives, and barrier removal — could similarly reduce youth poverty and associated social ills (e.g., crime, poor health, intergenerational poverty), and yield substantial societal returns.
How do you think about luck?
I don’t believe in luck; I know that God has ordered my steps. There are too many events in my life that some would call coincidences. Though she never said it, I believe my mother prayed the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel, and that’s why I am serving today.
Pricing:
- No charge to our clients
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.scfathersandfamilies.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCCFF/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/south-carolina-center-for-fathers-and-families
- Twitter: https://x.com/scfathers
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scfathersandfamilies
